Newsletter Article

Counties See Benefit in CalMHSA’s BHQIP Consultations  

Key staff: Dawn Kaiser, Senior Director, Managed Care Operations 

As counties worked to meet Behavioral Health Quality Improvement Program milestones for the Department of Health Care Services over the past two years, CalMHSA provided ongoing subject matter expertise, analysis and consultation. For each reporting period, CalMHSA surveyed counties receiving Performance Improvement Project (PIP) support or feedback and shifted its support strategies based on survey responses.   

In the March survey of counties:  

  • 87% were satisfied or very satisfied with support for Milestone 3d.  
  • 86% agreed or strongly agreed that their descriptive analysis report was helpful.  
  • 86% agreed or strongly agreed that their one-on-one PIP subject matter expertise meetings were helpful. 

“For the most recent reporting period, we really focused on one-on-one meetings between counties and our subject matter experts,” said Senior Director, Managed Care Operations Dawn Kaiser. “We also provided written feedback on draft performance improvement project write-ups, with an opportunity to self-schedule individualized 15-minute writing consults.”  

Since 2022, CalMHSA’s subject matter experts have provided data support and analysis for 42 counties and assisted 34 counties with implementing 102 PIPs. In addition to individualized consultations, descriptive analysis reports and written feedback, CalMHSA has also supported counties with webinars, office hours and resources to help with selecting PIP interventions, developing key performance indicators, completing an equity analysis and monitoring each PIP’s progress over time. 

“I am really grateful for the outreach I received,” said one county staff on the most recent survey. “The support and intentional outreach provided a tremendous amount of support. I would not have been successful without this and the writing consult.​”  

The March survey also queried county partners about future needs. Looking ahead, counties expressed interest in data support analysis for Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) measures, as well as technical assistance and subject matter expertise for PIP implementation related to the External Quality Review Organization annual reviews or HEDIS performance measure rate improvement.  

 

May 24, 2024